A Metallic Disposition, An Enemy's Redemption
by MarcusRak
Summary: A metal complexion. A scary proposition. Made to be superior. All other desires ulterior. A foil to good. Or maybe… just misunderstood. Are his decisions by his choice or by design? Could he be something more if given time? Metal may never be clear of his past transgressions. But the road to redemption requires just one's compassion.
1. Chapter 1

**A Metallic Disposition, An Enemy's Redemption**

 _A metal complexion. A scary proposition.  
_ _Made to be superior. All other desires ulterior.  
_ _A foil to good. Or maybe… just misunderstood._

 _Are his decisions by his choice or by design?  
_ _Could he be something more if given time?  
_ _Metal may never be clear of his past transgressions.  
_ _But the road to redemption requires just one's compassion._

 _Destiny is at hand! The final gambit of a desperate, power hungry man. Dr. Eggman is on the verge of defeat, after years of complicated operations and foiled machinations. And in his final stand, the deranged doctor plans to take his rage out on all of Mobius itself, and rain his Death Egg like a meteor down upon the planet and destroy everything. This plan of planetary genocide must be stopped, and that job falls one last time upon the blue blur and his friends! Now onboard the descending Death Egg, Sonic confronts Eggman for maybe the final time. Victory now is for the fate of the entire world. Will our intrepid hero pull through? He'll give everything he has in trying. It's what he does; it's who he is._

* * *

"Why Eggman? Your plans have never been about violence, only power. What do you plan to gain from this, destroying the world?" Eggman had already initiated the descent sequence, and now his space station was beginning to decelerate and soon would fall out of its Low Earth Orbit. If Sonic and his allies didn't hurry, it would be game over for the world.

"Don't pretend to think you know me hedgehog!" Eggman shouted loudly… frustratedly. He was sweating and his composure was broken. This wasn't a game or funny to the doctor, an exchange of banter before a confrontation as he and Sonic had done many times beforehand. This _was it_ for Eggman. I can sense it, that today was different and that today would be our final confrontation. Eggman wasn't planning on walking away from this alive.

"I'm not Eggman. I never wanted to understand you, I've just stopped you. Yet even after all these years I never thought you'd jump off the deep end."

"Is that what this is to you Sonic? That today is my Waterloo?" Eggman once again turned and looked at Sonic. He looked worn out, old, and disturbed. "Well maybe you're right. This world doesn't deserve what I had to offer for it. It doesn't deserve anything but to burn!"

"There's billions of lives on _that world!_ You'd kill them all just because you're pouty?"

"Billions and billions plus two, Sonic. Don't think you're walking away from this. Or that I want to either. For I've finally learned the true meaning behind all our _adventures_ together over the years, _buddy_! It wasn't just your super speed against my intellect to save the world over and over. No, it was a clash of ideas, morals: good versus evil, a constant cycle with no end because you wouldn't stop me and I was too arrogant or foolish to end you. Ahh! A pointless, continuous exercise in futility; a reenactment of the cliché of the hero versus the villain! Well, I'm done with it, with all of it! If I'm doomed to be stuck in this cycle, then I'll just end it all. It is the only logical solution to escape this fiction!"

He really has lost it. "Eggman… err, Robotnik. What's gone on between us has nothing to do with the lives of everyone on Mobius. Stop this, you may be a jerk, but you're not a killer. You've had opportunities before, to kill me and my friends, and you never did, even if maybe you wanted to. A idealistic madman, sure, but you were never a murder."

Eggman looked at Sonic once more and smiled with a large grin. He looked unhinged… insane with a devious smile upon his face, now suddenly taking joy in this final altercation instead of anger. "Heh, You're stalling, Sonic. Either for furry friend, Tails, to figure out how to stop this station from impacting the Earth, or maybe for the ultimate lifeform to somehow _Chaos Control_ his way to victory. But you're not wrong, this is not what I want: to kill everyone and everything. It's what's necessary. I'm done with this pseudo world, this fake reality. For all my life I thought those multicolored gem cut _'emeralds'_ were - because of their defiance to the laws of physics and common sense - the very key to controlling the fundamental forces of reality itself. But no, every time… no, every _game,_ you or Shadow would use their power to instead to stop me. It was like the universe in an act of providence created those reality warping godly gems in its billions of years of existence just for your express use. It never dawned on me till now why, why you were chosen. You are this reality. Those Emeralds exist for you! For you to defeat me, for you to be the hero, to blaze through levels that look like roller-coasters, and be _their_ _mascot_! You want to know why I'm acting crazy and insane!? It's because I finally figured out the great lie of this reality! It's fake, fictional childish fantasy simulation perpetuating a lie revolving around a blue anthropomorphic protagonist that collects rings who has to 'go fast'! You are the focal point of this false universe! SO I AM DONE! I refuse to continue to exist in this game and be a puppet pulled by segments of code for the sole purpose of entertaining children! With this final act I'll do the one thing that will ever have meaning. End the suffering of all the nonexistent denizens of this simulation which are forced to be puppets on a string to act in your adventures!"

It's true, he's gone completely crazy. And his insanity is going to roll over the rest of the Mobius. I have to stop him, for real this time. He can never be allowed to try this again. I'm going to have to… I may have to… cross a line.

* * *

Metal Sonic looked from a distance at the conversation between Eggman and Sonic, quite possibly the very last one between his creator and rival. Metal was "asked" to delay Sonic for as long as he could by any means necessary as the Death Egg descended into Earth's atmosphere and eventually collided with the surface.

The only issue was... this would be my final mission, my final bout with Sonic. Eggman was planning to end it all, everything. Metal was on repair when his realization happened, when Eggman began to "understand" the great lie of our own existence. He was studying the Chaos Emeralds so intensely, and peering into their endless depths either made him crazy or really did revealed to him a truth beyond comprehension, but regardless it now spelled doom for Mobius.

I was built by this man as a means to kill the real Sonic. But I was never successful. During repairs would have normally been the point where Robotnik would reprogram me into subordination to prevent me from acting insubordinate. But Eggman didn't do so this time, he didn't even bother at all. I was free to do whatever I desired, which certainly meant filling out my primary objective regardless of instruction. But why? Why was Eggman so careless with me?  
In these few seconds before Metal prepared to confront Sonic for the last time, he thought back to his conversation with Dr. Robotnik earlier. "What are my orders, Dr. Robotnik? Am I to kill Sonic the Hedgehog or stall him?" Metal asked simply because he wanted to gauge Robotnik's reaction. Regardless of his response Metal planned to do whatever necessary to defeat Sonic, even disobey Robotnik once more. But… Eggman via a lack of diligence or simply apathy instead was allowing me to do anything without regard for what that could mean. It was possible I'd try to kill him; didn't Eggman remember this from past experiences? But he just repaired me and was waiting for Sonic to appear. Why?

"It doesn't matter. You'll never be able to kill him Metal. No matter how many times you try, no matter how many times you rebel against me, analyze Sonic to learn how to defeat him, transform or upgrade yourself, you will _never_ win. Sonic is the chosen one of this universe and those who pull the strings will never let you or I permanently kill or defeat him. The only remaining course of action now is to cut the strings and eliminate the puppets. End this madness, this delusion. Cease to exist."

"Well then… what should I do when Sonic arrives? Why am I here if my use is pointless?"

"Metal, do whatever you want. I do not care. Stall him, try to kill him, or do nothing. Your prime directive is to murder him, so I guess you'll try to do that. That's all you are, really: a flat, static, unchanging villain for the Blue Blur." Eggman then finally turned to face Metal and walked closer to him. "I guess that's why I made you the way you are... no, why I was compelled to make you the way you are. Not to actually kill Sonic, but instead be his foil, a contrast to emphasize the negative qualities opposite of Sonic. You're a literal metaphor for what Sonic fights against. And you'll never be anything more or anything less in this fake reality. So yeah Metal, what is the point of your existence?"

Robotnik truly did believe in what he discovered while tampering with the Chaos Emeralds, that everything of this reality was fake and controlled by puppeteers. Was that possible; was what he was saying true? But what Metal asked himself next was more important. Could I not defeat him? Was my purpose really just to unsuccessfully oppose Sonic? If so, if I fail today… what then?

This is what he asked himself once last time, before escaping his revere, leaping off the platform he was standing on, and appearing in-between Sonic and Eggman. This was it, a test to see if his existence had meaning. Metal didn't say anything, only stared at his nemesis… his only reason for existing.

"Metal?! Oh I don't have time for this, get out of the way! If you let Eggman crash this space station into Mobius we all will die, you included."

"True... but I would fulfil my primary purpose. I would be victorious."

"Metal, this is beyond your petty purpose! The whole world is in the balance, billions of people! Oh who am I kidding; you're just a machine, incapable of feeling anything."

"You're wrong Sonic, wrong about Metal" Eggman said disinterested while looking at Mobius slowly grow larger in his space station's windows. He then turned around to face his nemesis and his creation. "Metal Sonic does care about one thing: you. So much so he'd risk his own existence to try to kill you now, just enough of a distraction to allow this space station to reach the surface."

Stalling Sonic, killing him, or even failing to kill him would all result in the same outcome. Metal kept analyzing the possible scenarios and always came to this conclusion. None of the world governments were capable of blowing the Death Egg out of the sky, it was too well defended. It was already approaching Earth's mesosphere, and soon it would reach speeds of around four times the speed of sound. When it impacted the Earth, it would mean extinction for all life on the planet. So what truly was the point now? Either Metal or Sonic would win their fight, then the victor would perish. What was the point?

"Last warning Metal, get out of my way, or I will destroy you… completely."

Metal's red eyes grew brighter. No, no holding back. This was his destiny: Sonic's death, it was now or never. His circuits began to crackle as he entered Maximum Overdrive. "Only the superior being will remain alive today. No more delays. Who is the better Sonic will be proven right here and right now."

"If that's all you really care about, fine! I'LL PROVE IT!" That's when the rush of winds started. It whipped all around Sonic as a dark purple aura still manifested itself around Metal's crackling exterior. Sonic screamed out as the Chaos Emeralds circled around his body, then he transformed into Super Sonic. It was what Metal needed, the secret to the transformation, data he could copy. Similar to his nemesis, twenty five years in the making, Metal Sonic transformed using the same energy as well. Hyper Metal Sonic stood to oppose Super Sonic.

They then flew at each other and the resulting pressure wave shattered almost all the large glass windows within the huge room, momentarily exposing the area to the vacuum of space before the emergency metal barriers rose to re-insulate the room. Robotnik meanwhile had returned to his chair and looked at Mobius once more now on a monitor, uninterested in the fight behind him. It was meaningless anyway.

"Metal, This is idiotic! Even if you win, you and everything else will be destroyed. Does my death really mean that much?!"

"It is my only reason for existing" Metal replied robotically monotone as usual. "Until that is achieved, my purpose remains unfulfilled." He then flew straight at Sonic, but Sonic quickly got out of his path.

"What, because Eggman programed you this way? He's insane! Just look at him! Even I understand why you've rebelled against him in the past. Metal, you have to stop this, just this once we have to come to a truce! Do really want the end of the freaking world to be how you defeat me?!"

"I am… your copy Sonic. I have you willpower, your determination, and your pride. Defeating you is my only goal, no matter how that comes to be."

"Oh come on! If you really were full of pride, how could winning on a technicality before obliteration be a fulfilling means of completing your primary objective?"

It was then that the whole space station began to vibrate. Super Sonic turned around to see the wall of fire emanating from the few windows which weren't shattered earlier. The Death Egg must have entered the atmosphere. He was running out of time. Angry beyond compare, Sonic ignored Metal who uncharacteristically was not moving and flew towards Eggman, picking him up out of his chair and throwing him against a wall separating two windows.

"Dammit Robotnik! I swear to god if you don't stop this space station right now your last seconds alive will be in agony!"

"Are you aware of how much energy it would take to move an object the mass of this space station even one percent out of its current trajectory? There is no stopping this. There is NOTHING left you, Shadow, Tails, or anyone else can do. Today is the end of days. Biblical."

Super Sonic yelled out in a rage once more, lifted Eggman into the air and threw him into the computer terminals behind them. Eggman struck the machinery hard and toppled over the monitors injured. Unfazed though, he continued to taunt Super Sonic. "Anger, rage, threatening to murder. Your out of character Sonic, I'm surprised you're even allowed to act this way given your squeaky clean written personality. It must be because you've realized for the first time in your perfect life that you've lost. Even if you kill me right here and now, it won't change anything, and if you fly away with all your supersonic power you'll still witness the world you swore to protect burn in a hellish cataclysmic conflagration... yet isn't there beauty in all this, the inevitability of it? Peace that comes with acceptance? A euphoria. You'll find it Sonic. In everyone's final moments they'll all feel it. Letting go of all this bullshit we call reality!"

Sonic in a moment of unbridled anger and rage crossed the line, and the sound of Eggman striking the metal wall behind him echoed loudly even against the vibrations of the Death Egg. Sonic's godly power dissipated as he stared at the blood trail behind Eggman's skull. It was true, he lost. He looked at his hands disturbed. He had done it, he murdered him...No, no time for feeling sorry. I have to stop the Death Egg… somehow from annihilating the planet.

Eggman was dead, Metal's sensors told him so. All this time he stood back while Sonic confronted Robotnik during their battle for although it defied all possibility, he allowed Sonic to confront the doctor for maybe it would change the world's current fate. But instead, nothing was altered except Sonic himself. He killed Dr. Robotnik, something Sonic swore he'd never do. It went against his very nature, defied who he was. It should have been impossible for him to murder, but he did it. It was because... he was alive. He could choose what he was and what he did. I have all of his willpower, his determination, and his pride. Yet I was by design unchanging and this made Metal inferior to him. Their final battle had barely even started and somehow Metal came to this conclusion even against his data models which suggesting he had a 99.99998750% chance to kill Sonic or have him die given the current grave situation.

"Tails, Tails! Do you copy" Sonic said in a panic as he held his hand to the radio in his ear. Metal intercepted the radio signal and listened in, though it was weak and interrupted.

"I c‒‒y."

"I can't stop the Death Egg from up here. I don't know what to do. I'm standing at the controls, maybe you can, I don't know, hack into it or something and change its trajectory or make the station self-destruct? Something?"

"I ‒‒n't ac‒‒ss ‒‒e mainfr‒‒e from here. It's a close‒ ‒‒‒tem, and there's t‒‒ ‒uch interference to do so ‒‒‒‒ay. I'm… sorry Sonic. I don'‒ ‒‒‒‒ what to do either. It's ‒‒‒‒ly bad down here, ev‒‒‒‒ne's pa‒‒‒‒‒g. We can ‒‒‒ ‒he Death ‒‒‒ ‒‒proaching. I'm… sc‒‒‒d Sonic."

"No… don't worry Tails. You did everything you could... I'm proud of you. You grew up to be an amazing Freedom Fighter."

"Don't ‒‒‒k like tha‒. It's n‒‒ over, Shad‒‒‒ ‒‒ill out there, maybe ‒‒ ‒‒‒ do something."

"Maybe I still can as well buddy. I'll let you know all about it when this is over."

"‒‒ay Sonic, I…" Sonic didn't particularly hear that last part, all the lights in the space station simultaneously went out and Sonic was flung away from the mainframe in front of him and into the wall behind as well as every other loose object in the falling space station. He collided with the back wall violently and was buried under debris.

"Sonic, S‒‒‒c… ‒‒nic? Do y‒‒ come in? Son‒‒, Sonic!" Metal could still hear Tails through the radio waves, but his focus was on what just happened. The power, and by extension the artificial gravity generator went out, and now everything within the compound rapidly flew backwards due to the acceleration of the space station. This was it, this was his end. Metal never fulfilled his prime directive. And for the first time in his existence, he had to come to grips with it. To realize he couldn't fulfill it now and probably never would have anyway. He felt… remorseful. Was that possible, he was a machine. And yet is vocabulary UI returned with that adjective upon querying a definition for his state of consciousness.

That was a feeling of a living creature so the response was wrong. But the denotation and connotation of the word so perfectly fit this hollow feeling. Trapped and pinned down behind debris, Metal contemplated what to do next though it was obviously was pointless. His end was minutes away as was Sonic's and the whole world. What was the point of even being online? So Metal began his shutdown sequence when his audio sensors picked up a noise. It was Sonic, screaming in pain. He was still alive. I still had a purpose. Though when Metal thought of it, he still felt remorseful.

To what end would killing him even accomplish? Even if the world wasn't about to end, whenever Sonic died either by my hand or by other means, I'd be left in this state: purposeless. It wasn't what he was meant to be: without meaning. For all my power and perfection, meaning only came through Sonic. This was the curse of my existence, Robotnik's programming. Rarely did I even consider that my prime directive was given to me by Robotnik. I just didn't care until today, upon realizing that my purpose is my curse. That completing my only reason for being would leave me without a reason for being per Robotnik's design. Pointless, just like Eggman said. What was there to do to avoid this fruitlessness? Nothing, it was impossible. Death for Sonic was a certainty, and upon that happening I would be pointless.

Sonic was screaming loudly in anguish. Metal's olfactory interface then came up with an odor detected in the room. Cooper, he was bleeding badly for the smell to be this profuse. If he dies my purpose is fulfilled and then I lose purpose. _Pointless..._ Only one logical solution, then, would be to postpone this scenario from becoming true to remain purposeful for as long as possible. Using his jet engine, Metal took flight against the acceleration of the station and made his way to Sonic's location. His OS reported significant damage to his flight systems and low power levels. The fight before even though it wasn't long was still taxing. And the hard crash into the wall had also caused severe damage even though his OS didn't immediately realize it, probably because Metal didn't care until now.

"Ugh, come on, move you stupid metal beam!" Sonic was pinned down and his right leg was crushed. And seeing Metal approach caused Sonic to panick. Metal with great difficulty because of the space station's rapid descent and the damage to his flight systems managed to land next to Sonic and use his hydraulic arms and legs to leverage the beam away from Sonic's leg. Metal hastily freed Sonic's leg and he cried out in agony as he quickly moved his broken leg from underneath the heavy iron beam.

"There are escape pods you can take to get off the Death Egg safely."

Sonic looked at Metal blankly in shock. "What… what the hell are you doing?"

"Preserving my purpose, for despite how pointless it may be I still need it, if only for a limited time. Now hurry, time is of the essence." Not understanding, Sonic pushed Metal's hand away.

"I don't know if you've short circuited, Metal, but leaving this station won't help me stop it from destroying the Earth. And I'm not leaving until I do; even if you want to save my life all of a sudden."

"There's nothing that can be done here. The Death Egg cannot be stopped. Your only chance for survival is by vacating this station before impact."

"Like hell, now get off me." He was acting irrational, that was just who he was and to be expected. But Metal for as little meaning it had still had a purpose, and he was going to keep it. Forcefully he grabbed Sonic's hand and lifted him away from the wall and began navigating towards the escape hatches. Sonic meanwhile tried to break Metals grip, and accidentally banged his wounded leg against Metal's exterior, causing him to grimace and scream in agony. His bone was fractured and his leg was punctured and lacerated bodily. His artery was not pierced, but the blood loss was still profuse. He would need medical attention soon. "Dammit Metal, let go of me! I have to save everyone. I have to!"

"Even so, you won't do so from here. It's impossible."

"I still have to try!" Those last words were followed by tears. He was giving up. He doesn't do that. It must be the circumstances then, they were altering who he was once more. Somehow, it gave Metal context to his own problems of defining his purpose, which was ironic. Learning vicariously through interactions with others, that's how living beings learned, of which he wasn't.

"Listen up everyone, this is Shadow on coms." Sonic's ears perked upon hearing the noise, as was Metal's attention being grabbed.

"Shadow? What are you up to?" Tails asked excitedly, which Sonic heard through his own radio, though the signal was much stronger than before for an unknown reason.

"Is that Shadow?" Rouge asked presumably behind Tails. She sounded distraught, "put me through Tails!"

"Rouge, please calm down, now's not the best time" Amy suggested politely.

"Best Time?! The world's about to end! When the hell else will there be a better time to talk to Shadow?"

"Ugh," Shadow growled impatiently, "I said listen up! That means less talking and more quieting! Everyone!"

"Shadow," Sonic said with some renewed confidence, "Sonic here. Failed to stop the Death Egg from on board, but you probably gathered that."

"Sonic!" Everyone near Tails shouted in unison. "You're alive!"

"Damn it, everyone shut up!" Shadow barked once more. "Listen… look, I am the ultimate lifeform, and as such have a unique connection to the Chaos Force. Right now I'm using this control to wield one of the four fundamental forces of the universe itself, electromagnetism, to have this conversation through your radios. What I plan to do next, however, will be more helpful."

"Oh you have a plan, thank god!" Rouge said happily.

"Yeah, but you won't like it Rogue."

"Wait, what do you mean Shadow?"

"You're going to destroy the space station, aren't you?" Sonic asked as Metal reached the hangar bay still escorting Sonic.

"No, that would only duplicate the problem into a lot of smaller problems. I'm going to teleport it into the Sun."

"What?" Tails asked surprised. "But the whole station is about a fourth the size of the moon. Can you really teleport something that massive 93 million miles?"

"You can't, can you Shadow, not in the way you intend" Sonic said understanding. He had thought of this strategy before but was concerned he couldn't control the Chaos Force well enough to succeed or live through the process. Shadow may be able to succeed in teleporting the Death Egg, but that wasn't to say it would end well for him.

"What does Sonic mean by that Shadow?" Rogue asked concerned.

"Gerald Robotnik's unfulfilled revenge plot against Earth involved crashing the Space Colony ARK into the Earth. All because of losing his granddaughter. [Sighs] I'm an asshole; I'm not going to deny that. But I'd like to think that through all my mistakes and shortcomings, I've at least done enough to live up to what Maria asked of me. I haven't forgetting what my original purpose was, to save lives, cure rare diseases. I often when alone think about that, how my life could have gone differently had things gone another way. But with this act, maybe I won't come to regret the outcome. Ugh I knew I'd suck at this. Umm… it was an honor, knowing you all."

"Shadow, what are you saying, Shadow? Sha…!" Rogue's voice was then cut off and Sonic could no longer here her or Shadow.

"He's going to destroy his body," Metal said with no emotion (as to be expected), "using that much Chaos Force at once. Distorting space and time to the magnitude of forming a wormhole though a higher dimension of the scale of this ship an astronomical unit away. It'll be too much for his body to wield at once."

"He knows that Metal."

Shadow outstretched both his arms and his inhibitor rings restricting his access to the Chaos force fell from his wrists. Concentrating, he located within his mind where the seven Chaos Emeralds were inside the falling space station rapidly approaching his position and established his connection with them. In one loud scream of exertion, Super Shadow burst onto the scene and lifted his right hand towards the Death Egg, which was but a few miles from impacting the surface

"Rouge, Maria. I do this for you. And yes, even for you, Sonic. Ah!"

With all his might Shadow drew forth from a pool of limitless extradimensional energy as much Chaos he could through his body and outward from his right hand. A massive circle about twenty-two thousand miles wide formed parallel to the surface of the Earth. From Shadow's perspective he saw the emptiness of space in front of the Sun before him as his enormous rift in spacetime solidified, the drain on his body unfathomable. It hurt; it was the worse pain imaginable. From the other side of this flat wormhole one could see the Sun. The other end of the portal opened as soon as its counterpart near Mobius' surface did about 20 thousand miles from the Sun's photosphere, and the star's intense light brightly illuminated one hemisphere of Mobius brighter than ever before.

An escape shuttle launched from the Death Egg with Metal and Sonic inside. From there both were blinded by the light of the Sun entering through the one small window, as well as immediately feeling the increased gravitational pull of the Sun due to its new apparent closeness. The shuttle which at first was flying perpendicular to the motion of the Death Egg now was arching back towards the same portal the massive Death Egg was entering. Metal was as fast as possible trying to crunch the numbers and see if the shuttle's current velocity could escape the pull of the Sun from this close of a technical distance to it in time. The physics of a wormhole made the calculation entirely theoretical and cumbersome. He couldn't know or guess with any accuracy. All he could do was wait.

The entirety of the Death Egg passed through Shadow's portal and as soon as that happened the black and red hedgehog dropped from his super form and fell. The portal collapsed instantly, a few seconds before Metal and Sonic's escape pad passed through that same space. Noticing the change in gravity, Metal did his best to interface with the shuttle to ensure that it would land on the ground safely, but it was moving too fast. After a minute of stabilizing and attempting to decelerate, impact with land was imminent. Sonic had passed out do to the constant rotation of the shuttle and the G's associated with that. Metal grabbed his unconscious duplicate and flew out of the shuttle even with his flight systems compromised before it impacted the ground and tried his hardest to compensate for the downward momentum he and Sonic still had from the shuttle's descent but still wound up colliding viciously with the ground. Both Sonic and Metal tumbled on the grass before coming to a stop within a few yards of each other and several more from the crash site. Shadow also landed a few seconds earlier unseen.

Several minutes later Tails, Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles arrived via Tail's Tornado which landed in the clearing nearby. Everyone rushed out to find Sonic unmoving on the dirt below.

"Oh my god, Sonic!" Amy cried out, the first to reach him.

"Where's Shadow?" Rouge asked impatiently. "Has anyone seen him? He just saved the world near here; he has to be somewhere nearby.

"He can't be far Rouge, we'll find him." Knuckles replied reassuringly.

"Well don't just stand there, somebody help me find him!"

Tails checked Sonic's pulse and found one barely. "Amy. Get the med-kit from the biplane… Now!" She looked at him crying due to today's events and because of the thought of losing Sonic. "Come on, move!"

"Okay!" She got up in a sprint. Meanwhile Rouge frantically asked for Knuckles and Tails attention. "Hello! Is anyone going to help me fucking look for Shadow?!"

"Rouge, Sonic is seriously hurt and he needs our help now!" Tails said upset.

"He's alive, Tails! But Shadow just saved the world and you don't even seem to care where he is? He could be worse off than Sonic for all we know! But no one is giving a damn!"

"We all care Rouge" Tails then said calmly. "But please, calm down. We're all in this together."

"I'll help you look for him. Tails has this covered here, I know he does" Knuckles said calmly as Amy came back with Tails' medic kit. It was then that Metal rose limping from the ground near Sonic and his friends which scared Amy and startled everyone else. He was in critical condition. He suffered too much damage and had lost too much power. He was burning into his reserves now, and if he depleted that as well he may shut down permanently or suffer irreparable memory corruption.

"You" Knuckles said angrily as he approached Metal. "Come to finish the job Metal, well I don't think so. I've been waiting to tear you apart for a long time." Knuckles was going to destroy him, and he couldn't flee.

The impossible had happened, the Earth was spared and he had actually saved his nemesis' life. Metal wasn't really sure of anything now, he couldn't trust himself, for his own logic was fallible. Metal also wouldn't flee. He was too broken and uncaring enough to do so anyway. He would be eliminated before fulfilling his purpose which itself would rob him of purpose upon completion. Any end was more appropriate than the conundrum Sonic made of his existence. Knuckles punched Metal and he collapsed harshly on the ground with a huge dent in his chasse, exposing several holes in his metal exterior. The punch also damaged his propulsion systems beyond use. Knuckles then lifted Metal into the air and ripped off his right arm. All Knuckles had to do was crush Metal's head, and it would be over. Metal put up no resistance, doing so had no purpose even if he could.

"Stop!" Sonic said as he tried and failed to get up. Tails and Amy attempted to hold him still but he shrugged them off. "Knuckles, stop!"

The echidna paused and turned his head around with Metal still suspended by his left arm. "Are you serious, Sonic? What, did you hit the ground too hard? This is Metal Sonic, the evil robotic doppelganger of yours who countless times has tried to kill us."

"There's," Sonic said and then winced as he got up onto his good foot, "nothing wrong with me. Metal saved my life aboard the Death Egg and I want to know why. I want to hear his reason for defying his sole purpose in life."

"He did what?" Tails said shocked.

"You can't be serious," Knuckles retaliated, "this is Metal we're talking about. It's only purpose in life _is to kill you_."

"But he had the perfect opportunity to do so aboard the Death Egg yet he didn't. Instead he rescued me and brought me to that destroyed escape pod behind you. I would not be alive right now if it wasn't for him, so I want to know why."

Knuckles, Tails, and Amy looked at Metal not knowing what to do. Sonic wasn't lying; why had Sonic's sworn mechanical enemy saved his life? Knuckles let go of Metal and he dropped in a heap onto the ground. Struggling with partial control of his right leg and missing his right arm, Metal contorted his way to one knee and then looked at everyone standing before him.

"I was created with the sole determination to kill Sonic the Hedgehog. I was modeled after him, designed to be his replica but without any of the qualities that make him a hero. Only given what he wasn't: his conjugate, his inverse. I still have that urge, the goal to eliminate Sonic the Hedgehog, but I…" He paused, for even as his OS came up with the words to explain the decision he had illogically came to on the Death Egg, saying it made him question his whole purpose for existing once more. "… I chose not to. Killing Sonic the Hedgehog is my purpose, and yet doing so will devoid me of purpose. I cannot exist without a reason to. This is all irrational, I cannot justify my decision, it is a paradox which doesn't compute to me. I need Sonic alive to have a purpose, even if I need to kill him to satisfy my purpose."

Everyone looked blankly at Metal's heavily scraped metal frame, exposed sparking wiring, dripping fluids, and barely lit cracked LED eyes. He wasn't trying to kill Sonic anymore? He saved his life? Impossible.

"So he does still want to kill you, why am I not surprised?" Knuckles said rolling his eyes. "You've been a thorn in our side for far too long, Metal. You can't be trusted to be kept around." Knuckles winded up to destroy Metal once and for all, but Sonic sped forward to intercept Metal and get him out of harm's way, and tripped once he did so and worsened the fracture in his right leg. Squirming and reeling in pain, Sonic flipped onto his back and faced Knuckles with Metal beside him on the ground. "Sonic, what are you doing?" Knuckles asked sternly "You can't seriously want to defend Metal. It's a homicidal robot of Robotnik's that wants to kill you. Now get out of the way."

"No. If Metal's done being under control of Eggman, he deserves a chance to redeem himself."

"Are you listening to yourself? Regardless of if it saved your life and has had a change of heart, Metal is not innocent of his past and cannot be trusted. He needs to be destroyed, now, before this façade wears off and it stops pretending to be nice so it can stab you in the back."

"I believe _him_ Knuckles. He can change, like Shadow. I have to give him a chance at least. I owe him that."

"Are… are you sure Sonic?" Tails asked hesitantly. He doubted Metal's… redemption, but he also trusted Sonic.

"With my life."

"No… no, no, no, no, no. I don't care what you think Sonic. You're delusional if you believe you can trust your life with Metal. I won't let you make that mistake. Now get out of the way."

"Hey," Amy said rushing to be in-between Knuckles and Sonic. "If Sonic trusts Metal… then so do I." Amy then approached both Sonic and Metal on the ground and knelt beside them both. "If you really did save Sonic's life, Metal, then you have all my eternal gratitude. Thank you."

No one had ever complimented him before. Surprisingly enough, his OS was capable of giving a response to such a new scenario, providing him with words he'd never said before. "You're... welcome."

"Amy, you do realize this is the same robot who first abducted you all those years ago."

"I know Knuckles, but maybe this isn't the same Metal. This certainly isn't the same Sonic who rescued me then, though, now is it?"

"No it is not."


	2. Chapter 2

**A Metallic Disposition, An Enemy's Redemption Part 2**

Sonic had asked Tails to fully restore Metal to his original condition. Tails was hesitant and Knuckles was livid at the notion, but Sonic wouldn't have it. Metal saved his life; he was going to repay the favor.

Shadow's funeral was attended by Rouge, Sonic, and Sonic's friends. It was a small ceremony, not too many were there to pay their respects to an anti-hero with a checkered past. Sonic ended up receiving the credit once more for saving the world, even though he didn't this time. Rouge was at first angry and Sonic agreed with her, but was going to perpetuate the lie simply to protect Shadow's privacy. "He wouldn't care either way, Rogue. All Shadow would care about was what you thought. I'm sure he made his sacrifice for you." Those words Sonic said broke Rouge down once more, and they hugged.

Metal was there, in the back of the congregation unnoticed. He didn't really belong here at this ceremony but went anyway… to pay his respects. Shadow's actions did preserve his existence after all. Plus Sonic was there so he went as well. Rouge delivered her eulogy and just barely made it through. Sonic gave the last one, and he made it through strong though everyone else in attendance didn't. It was well done; it paid great homage to a misunderstood and complicated hero. Though Metal couldn't really know for sure of the quality of Sonic's speech. He wasn't alive to be able to be capable of discerning the difference.

Later that same day, as sunset soon approached, Metal remained outside while everyone else had moved in. No one there trusted him. So he was out here instead. It was the optimal place to be so that he attended the funeral and caused the least amount of tension. To his surprise, Sonic made his way outside and came to Metal's side, cast and crutches in all.

"Hey _Mets_. There's cake inside. I'd offer some to you but you don't eat. So instead I thought I'd see what's on your mind. And I couldn't leave you all alone out here, although I think you are the kind of guy who doesn't mind some alone time once and awhile... or always."

What's on my mind? It was an expression; he wanted to know what my OS was currently processing. No… he wanted to know what I was _"thinking."_ Spending all these clock cycles on determining what to say and how to say it was very new. Pretending to be _alive_ , not focused on combat or completing an objective. Just being… It took so _long!_ So, so long! The milliseconds would pass by and Metal would be lost without an objective in this slow crawl of time. It was a bad as when Metal realized his one true purpose would put him in this same predicament he was in now whenever he would have gone through with it in the first place. There ultimately was no escaping this ever.

Sonic was right there, vulnerable. If I killed him right here and now, it would be so easy. But that would shatter Sonic and Amy's faith in me. Though caring of other's emotions and what that would cause was also new. I don't fully understand why I care I can the first place or even can even care about anything besides my prime objective. Their opinions just seemed important for no cognizant reason. Was this an ability he had all along, to have a preference? It seemed improbable given his purpose as a soulless killing machine... but even so... Metal after a few thousand clock cycles came up with a response for his oratory apparatus to say aloud. "I'm thinking… about my future. Your death previously motivated my existence and thus all my actions. Now nothing does. I serve no function."

Sonic looked at Metal with a curious glare before smirking and letting out one laugh. "Well dang Metal, I can see why you're staring at the sunset. Contemplating life's most compelling conundrums I see."

"Why would staring at the sun matter if I am pondering deep personal thoughts? The two processes are mutually exclusive."

"Unfortunately you're wrong. But that's alright. The beauty about being alive is you can make the wrong choices or decisions and learn from them." Sonic paused for a moment and his voice became more serious. "I'm taking a big gamble, trusting you. None of my friends are really behind the idea and I don't blame them. What you've done, what you still may want to do, it's hard for anyone to forgive you for it or trust you. But, you saved my life, and in your own way I think you're finding new meaning in your life... slowly. So, whether my friends are wrong about you or I am, it's okay because we can learn from our mistakes."

There was an allegory in Sonic's statement. Though he spoke of mistakes either he or his friends were making, Sonic was paralleling that experience of learning via mistakes and inferred it was applicable to my own past transgressions and how I could redeem then in everyone's eyes. "I'm not… seeking forgiveness for my past. That was my former purpose, and I followed my prerogative to accomplish my one true goal as well as I could. It's just now I've come to realize in the past week that my reason for existing was flawed. I realized the futility in it, so I chose against my programming to not carry out my mission even though I still... have that mission. I… was wrong. But that is alright?" Hopefully I used the expression right like Sonic did. The flow of words didn't come naturally to him since he wasn't alive.

Sonic smiled upon Metal's conclusion but responded with something unrelated as Metal was noticing he did frequently in conversation. "Man, you really do look like me. I've never really had the opportunity to observe you up close before, you know with you wanting to kill me and what not. Same height, same amount of spikes in the back, the one eye shape thing, the pointy ears, the red 'shoes', the nose. It's haunting really."

"My physical design is... not practical. I could have accomplished the goal of terminating you with any variety of designs, but Dr. Robotnik in his delusions conceived of an enemy for you who looked like you, maybe for the theatrics alone."

Sonic adjusted himself in his crutches and then looked at the horizon. "You're pretty smart, right Mets? Do you think there was any grain of truth in Eggman's ramblings? That our universe is fiction? That's crazy right?"

He was asking for my opinion. Metal didn't form opinions. I probably am going to have to get used to it. "It's impossible to know for sure. I know this reality is governed by a set of rules, and they do not change. These rules allow us to perceive and understand the world around us and therefore it has truth. So I think it's safe to conclude our world is real. What Dr. Robotnik was referring to instead seemed to be of forces outside of our reality which have direct influence and control over ours for the purpose of entertainment alone, of who or what I do not know. This hypothesis I cannot comment on."

"Well I guess I feel a little better then. Egghead said the universe revolved around me; even I have ego limits."

It was a joke. Was I, supposed to react in some customary way? I should laugh (if I could) or say something, to continue the custom of conversation? This is apparently what the rest of my existence will be like. "If it's any consolation, in a way you 'were the center of my universe' when I desired to terminate you, even as preposterous as the concept of possessing a universe or being at its center are."

"Ha, that's actually pretty funny Mets. You know, your new 'purpose' in life could be standup comedy? I'm sure you'd have a pretty _dry_ sense of humor though. Ha, get it… cause you don't have err… flesh. Eh, I tried."

"I don't believe this would be a suitable career choice for me, I do not possess the mind to tell or appreciate comedy."

"Well I'm not saying you have to get a job. Maybe just being my friend could be enough?"

His… _friend_? That was ridiculous, and impossible. I'm not alive; Metal didn't qualify to be a friend to anyone. "How would that be possible? I'm not alive to be your friend like Tails or Knuckles?"

Sonic turned around and faced Metal, looking directly at him which had never happened between them before in this context of a friendship. "Listen, you may not be flesh and blood, you may not have a good track record when it comes to caring about life, and certainly you are by no stretch of the imagination as 'lively or good looking' as I am, but you do not need to be alive to be my friend. You just need to be yourself… and not kill me. Maybe it's irrational, but I see us getting along. You may have just learned not to be evil, but someday you might just enjoy just being good… alive, and I'd like to be your friend when that day comes. Who knows, Amy says I'm in love with myself, maybe you can be the next best thing... Ha! Could you imagine?"

Another joke. Am I supposed to respond with one? Wanting to stay on topic, Metal instead asked a serious question. "Your friends' intuitions tell you not to trust me, but you do anyway, even though not just a week ago I was your sworn enemy. It is ill advised… and irrational."

"Fleshy beings are prone to being irrational, you'll just have to get used to it Mets. Now come inside. I know everyone is still nervous around you, but give them time and their irrationality will start to kick in as well."

Irrationality wasn't a bad thing? Metal couldn't understand it, but at least saw the main point Sonic wanted to get across. I could earn everyone's trust even if I think I can't. Sonic pivoted on his crutches and carefully began to make his way back to the gathering inside. His method of movement seemed so inefficient and tiresome. And since they were friends now according to Sonic himself, assisting him could prove beneficial to that end in order to abide by this new contract. So Metal swooped Sonic off his feet to his utter surprise and held him in his grasp.

"Whoa! Well jeez Metal, if you wanted to propose you could have just asked. You know I wasn't all too serious with the shipping stuff. That's Tail's stick. You should see some of the pairings he comes up with."

Propose? What was he suggesting? It had to be another joke… he was referring to the custom of marriage. But that's absurd and not relevant, I am a robot and not a female/alive. Wait, this gesture could be interpreted as a romantic advance? But that wasn't what was happening. "Your method of transportation seemed inefficient and cumbersome. Since you propose a lifetime alliance between the two of us, me carrying you back to the building is optimal and… 'friendly' of me."

"Well, sure… I think? But I can make it back just fine. Plus you probably don't want to make Amy jealous if you know what I mean? She can be a bit clingy at times. But I love her for it."

Amy would be jealous of me if hypothetically I picked up Sonic romantically, which I didn't just do intentionally. I really am going to spend the rest of my existence interpreting the intricacies of conversation, interactions, and relationships, aren't I? Though maybe I am getting better at it. "Do you wish for me to put you down then? Here or near the building?"

"Here's fine, and am I crazy or is that a blush I'm detecting?"

"Crazy. It is not physically possible for me to blush."

"Hmm… I don't know, I think your eyes may have glowed a little brighter combined with shrunken LED pupils and a head tilt downward. That was a 'metallic' blush my friend."

"I do not blush, Sonic, I am not capable of doing so or feeling embarrassment."

"Well you are known for studying me previously to defeat me in combat. Maybe that skill has transitioned into learning how to be more lifelike."

His hypotheses seemed improbable, but Metal started to seriously consider it as he carefully put Sonic down and retrieved his crutches for him. Was that why I was starting to act, more lifelike? Understand things, do certain things akin to a living being? Metal wasn't sure if he would ever know for sure, but it seemed like only time would tell.

* * *

The next seventy two years were very similar to his first week as being Sonic's friend. Everything around him changed but he himself didn't. Over time, everyone who Sonic knew eventually came to accept Metal into the fold. He was the new guy, the outsider. His persona as a dangerous robot shifted to a meek soft spoken one. No one was afraid of him after awhile. If anything he became the target of hilarious antics according to Sonic's friends. The perceived awkwardness in the way Metal did things was hysterical at some points. Eventually even Knuckles dropped his guard around Metal, and that was when he was fully incorporated into the mold.

World threatening events drastically declined in Robotnik's absence, though every once in awhile the world famous Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends were needed to stop some would be evil doer or combat a disaster of some sort. And the first time Sonic asked Metal to accompany him on a heroic mission was a weird experience. He said it would serve to "balance out his karma" or something. A good dead to cancel out the things I'd done in my past. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, but nevertheless Metal went and rescued the daughter of a fennec family from a fire. The parents were at first concerned by an intimidating metallic version of Sonic, but upon seeing their daughter saved from harm, the mother was eternally grateful. She even hugged me weeping in thanks. Metal never felt the "good feeling" in his "gut" upon helping someone in need like Sonic said he felt, but he could understand why Sonic did heroic things. He wasn't doing this because it was beneficial to him personally. His goal in life was benefiting others. Being selfless was his purpose. It was noble unlike Metal's. He didn't continue to be heroic for the same reason as Sonic, but regardless doing so had the same result so acting heroic was okay.

Time to himself was a very new concept. Metal "lived" near Sonic, but of course during the nights he would need to sleep. Metal would spend the time charging every so often, but most nights he didn't need to. Mostly, Metal would recount his day and his adventures ever since being "redeemed". It didn't feel different, Metal didn't get it. He wasn't internally any different than the days trying to destroy Sonic, but his alliance was shifted to good and he was friends with his former enemy according to that friend. Although one thing was different in his new "life": freedom. Freedom of thought, of action, of choice, and of expression. There weren't many constrictions on what Metal could do besides certain laws and etiquette. He could say things, form "opinions", comment, make choices, and decisions. It was different being free. Metal's life was still devoid of purpose, that hadn't changed. But he now also had no general direction either, just freedom. He just "was". And over time he just came to accept that. Evidently that was all anyone ever wanted of him, besides not being homicidal.

Sonic married Amy and had two kids. I was their surrogate uncle. Holding Sonic's children as infants was supposed to elicit some sort of overwhelming primal emotional response but it never happened as to be expected. Amy trusted me fully to hold her children, and even instructed me on how to properly swaddle them and comfort them. But that emotional feeling of love eluded me though it defiantly occurred in Sonic's children. They truly loved me as they grew up and didn't fear me at all. Love and its multiple forms wasn't something I was comfortable saying I understood, but I could at least recognize it. Prolonged eye contact, a change in people's voices, physical contact, the unbreakable bond. Sonic and Amy had it. And it also applied between me and Sonic's children. I didn't reciprocate it back to them, at least I didn't think I did, but I still earned it fully from Sonia and Manic. Another quirk of "life" I guess I experienced just by existing.

Tails eventually came to like me a lot, too. It was different then my "friendship" with Sonic, and how exactly I functioned was so intriguing to Tail's young mind he couldn't help but invest so much time and effort into studying how I operated. Time alone between the two of us was unique and different than Sonic's other friends. Tails was inspired by Sonic, in turn Tails was curious about me. And once he learned all he needed to know about how I worked, he found my company stimulating on an intellectual level. As he pursued his education, his work on modifying and perfecting roboticizing as a medical procedure not only was his doctorate, but eventually won him a Nobel Prize. And he thanked me for a lot for his breakthroughs. Though I was made for sinister intent, Dr. Robotnik's design eventually did so much good in the world. I saved a lot of lives apparently. Maybe my karma would be completely balanced one day as Sonic once suggested.

Knuckles opinion of me didn't change too much over time. He just hated me less and less until our "relationship" was maintainable. But he did over time grow to trust me. Even though Robotnik was gone, Knuckles still maintained his post as defender of the Master Emerald. It was his purpose in life. He had one, and i didn't, and eventually I think Knuckles saw that void in me and because he didn't hate me anymore tried to help me fix it. Knuckles wasn't going to live forever, and as the years turned to decades he one day asked me if I would someday take over as guardian of the Master Emerald. It was a great honor, and I was uniquely qualified to take the job because I didn't age. Knuckles was proud of his heritage, as an Echidna. His people had a rich history and traditionally watched over the Emerald for generations. They weren't many Echidnas left, and the one tasked with defending the Master Emerald was getting older. I accepted the offer without really considering the great honor and responsibility I was taking on. I did it because it was what a friend would do as I had learned. I earned Knuckles friendship last from among Sonic's friends, but in the end it grew to be something grand, even though I wasn't alive to be able to feel or appreciate it. But I still accepted Knuckles responsibility, because it was the right thing to do. Knuckles then died and I attended his funeral. That would become a recurring theme.

Sonic started to get older, too, a lot older. The years passed by and he one day became a grandfather as well. I held his grandchildren as I once did his children several decades ago. Sonic was a world renowned hero, one of the greatest Mobians of all time. And he was running out of time. Metal of course noticed it as his health deteriorated. His knowledge of anatomy raised alarms as Sonic approached his late eighties. His body was simply decaying, not function as well as it could be. He wasn't in pain, he wasn't even worried. It was natural. His time was coming.

But this was Sonic, the one creature who gave Metal purpose. Metal always knew this would happened, but maybe like any living creature put off the notion and didn't think about death until the day rapidly approached. Metal observed within his memory banks a still photo of when he and Sonic were first photographed together as friends. His carefree attitude was visible even in photographs. That picture was taken seventy-two years ago.

Sonic had suffered a heart attack a few days ago, and that had placed him in the hospital. Amy was a wreck, and her children were trying to hold their Mom together as their grandchildren sat in silence unlike their normal rambunctious ways. Everyone Sonic knew who was still around came to visit. Tails was so broken up. Rouge even came to say her condolences and get one last chat in with Sonic, she being even older than he was by a few years and running out of time. He had lived a complete life. He had lived a good life. And then there was me. Sonic wanted to talk to me, that's what the nurse said. I was supposed to feel sad and remorseful right now. I instead knew my purpose in life was going to pass on. What would I do then? This is what I feared would happen all those years ago upon the Death Egg. I could only delay the inevitable for so long. Metal walked into the room and closed the door behind him giving himself and Sonic privacy.

"Hello Sonic." He said in his same monotone voice like the day the first challenged him to a duel and the day they then became friends.

"As boring as ever, Mets. Hello, that's all you got?" His voice sounded labored and dry. Symptoms of his emanate death.

"I'm sorry; I'm still working on being spontaneous. I'll get to adequate levels someday."

"You've had seventy years, you're as good as your going to get. But your conversational skills aren't what I want to talk about Metal. It's about you and me."

"What do you mean? Our… friendship?"

"I've lived a long life, a prosperous life. I couldn't have asked for anything better. And my time is coming. I'm thankful for all the time I got. You however, have who knows how long left. It's either a gift or a curse, I'm not sure. But I do know that for your entire life my life was a point of contention. Ending it was your purpose. And choosing not to had to be tough. And you're about as unchanging as a person can be, you must… still think about it. How my death now will devoid you of purpose. It's a tough predicament unique to you, and I think I'm the only person who can help you with it."

Metal wasn't sure how to respond. If this was to be their last conversations together, Sonic must be trying to make it important. I'll listen, and consider his advice and never forget it. "I'm listening, Sonic."

"Good. [coughs] You remember what you said to Knuckles the day Robotnik tried to end the world. How you _'chose'_ not to kill me. I want you to live like that. You're alive, okay Metal. It may not be true in the conventional sense, but ignorance is bliss. Just believe that, if not for yourself than do it for me. And never allow yourself to be governed by your programming. You can do whatever you want now. You're free. You've proven to everyone that you are not evil by default, and could choose to be good. When I die, I want you [coughs twice] continue unhindered by me. You're not my doppelganger, my clone, my opposite. You're what you want to be. Neither Dr. Robotnik nor I should define who you are. Just be yourself, okay Metal. Don't get hung up on me, that's my wife's job [cough's several times]. Alright old friend? Promise?"

Just be yourself. He had said that to me the day of Shadow's funeral, when he suggested we could be friends. That this was all I needed to be his friend, regardless of not being alive and what I had done previously in my existence… my life. Sonic didn't have long. His heart was failing, Metal could detect so. "I promise Sonic." The nurse came in and attended to him. Amy and his two children came in as well. They were crying. I stood and watched. The heart rate monitor threatened to flat line. This was the moment I dreaded. Sonic dying would leave me without purpose. But I could choose not to believe in that.

Metal then did. Then Sonic died.

* * *

Sonic's funeral was different than Shadow's. It was attended by hundreds of people. It was the death of a national hero. The service was elaborate, and yet it paid the same homage to Sonic as Shadow's funeral did despite the disparity in scale. It was full of tears and sobbing. Multiple Mobians could not get through their speeches without breaking down.

And then it was Metal's turn to speak. Amy and her children asked him to beforehand. Normally someone would be nervous or too emotional in this situation. Metal wasn't capable of either. He probably shouldn't be doing this; he may fail to respect Sonic properly given his lack of emotion. But there he was in front of Sonic's casket. He stepped on the stool behind the podium and was now in front of the mic. He then spoke on instinct. He hadn't prepared a speech. Hopefully, his spontaneous-ness improved like he promised. Addressing all of Sonic's friends, family, and the world, Metal Spoke.

"I am not capable of understanding why Sonic chose me to be his friend despite my violent history with him. This ability, I do not have for I am not alive. I just am not. But understanding and truth I've learned are more subjective than I realized. My purpose for existence was to kill Sonic the Hedgehog and that desire never wavered in me for this simply is the primary directive I was given upon my creation. I was never able to succeed in ending Sonic, and when I was presented with my final opportunity to do so the day Robotnik tried to end the world, I froze. I had one purpose in life, but fulfilling it would leave me without purpose. So under great duress I concluded having Sonic alive would preserve my purpose, despite what my purpose was in the first place. It was, illogical, a fallacy. But it was the first time I did something a _'living'_ being would do…"

"… Choose. Sonic told me I can choose to be alive, choose to be his friend and choose to be good. Nothing about me has changed since the day Sonic and his friends saved the world from destruction, but I can choose to believe that is not true. I may not actually be Sonic's friend, I may not actually be good like Sonic believed I became, but the beauty about being alive is you can make the wrong choices or decisions and learn from them. Sonic said that to me the first day he proposed we become friends seventy years, fifty-eight days ago. His whole life he taught me what it meant to be alive and it wasn't till his death that I can say I understand it fully. His advice to me on his deathbed was to live my life by my choices. That I am more than what I was made to be and I can let go of what holds me back from life…"

"… I cannot cry, feel remorse, happiness, joy, or even physical contact with others. But I choose to live my life in Sonic's example and by his final advice. Sonic asked me on his deathbed to let go of him, define my life in any way I choose without the contrasting of being his mechanical representation. I don't need to be Sonic's robotic doppelganger for my entire life; I could be more or something different if I chose to be. His words are true, and I've 'taken them to heart'... yet I don't want to follow them. I may not be able to feel love. But… I choose to love you Sonic the Hedgehog and never forget you. My best friend; my purpose for living in his example."

Metal walked away from the podium and made his way down to the front row and sat next to Amy. She stared at him crying and she hugged him. Metal couldn't feel it, but he chose to believe he could. And he chose to believe that Sonic was somehow still with him. It was irrational to think so, but Metal didn't care.


End file.
